For those who are unfamiliar with some of the jargon we'll be using, we put together a short glossary of terms that we use in our display reviews. Manufacturer specifications can sometimes overstate the importance of certain factors, while at the same time omitting other important information, but we will do our best to separate the reality from the hype in our reviews.

Two years ago, 22" LCDs didn't even exist on the market. Today, just about every major display manufacturer has one available. That should be a pretty clear indication of how important they consider this particular market, the $250-$350 midrange display. There's only one real problem with all of these 22" displays: the designs and appearance may be different, and certain features may be present or lacking depending on what model you're looking at, but invariably they all use TN panels. The TN (twisted nematic) LCD panel is one of the oldest and most common designs, and while that may be good for prices the reality is that other aspects of these panels tend to be behind the times. Viewing angles in particular are not as good as other LCD panel technologies, and TN panels only provide 6-bit (with dithering) rather than true 8-bit color.

Like many other 22" LCDs, HP uses an LG.Philips panel. The technologies used to approximate 16.2 million colors are quite good these days; nevertheless, there were times during testing where we noticed some minor artifacts that made the 6-bit nature apparent. This is not something that most people would notice during typically use, and we certainly don't consider this to be a problem limited to the HP w2207 - all 22" LCDs at present have similar difficulties. The bottom line, however, is that in terms of quality we feel most of the 24" LCD panels are superior to the 22" panels. That might also explain why they cost quite a bit more.

In the features department, HP does add a few things to put this particular LCD above most of the entry level 22" offerings on the market. One of the major differences between the HP w2207 and panels like the Acer AL2216W is that the HP has a glossy finish on the panel. This does tend to make colors look more vibrant and the contrast ratio is higher than other 22" models, but it has the drawback of making the panel more reflective as well. The other major feature is that the display supports portrait mode, something missing from many inexpensive LCDs. Going along with the pivot function, you also get a high-quality stand that provides over 4" of vertical travel. Compared to something like the Acer AL2216W, the stand makes a significant difference, though it also has a larger footprint than some competing LCDs. You also get two USB 2.0 connections that are easily accessed on the left side of the display.

We have previously covered HP's warranty and support options, and our experience when reviewing the w2207 was similar to what we encountered in our review of the LP3065. HP informed us that all of their products come with a 60 day satisfaction guarantee, so at least in terms of pixel defects customer should not have any difficulties. Beyond the first 60 days, you might need to make a bit more noise if you encounter any pixel defects and you want a new display, but it seems that if you squeak enough HP's customer service may be willing to lend you some oil. As one of the largest computer equipment manufacturers in the world, you also get the benefit of 24/7 technical support, although it can sometimes take a bit of effort to get to the right department if you don't buy the display as part of a computer package.

As one of HP's consumer/home office offerings, the w2207 comes with a standard one-year warranty. You can purchase a three-year extended warranty for an additional $110, although at that price we would seriously recommend looking at some of the 24" offerings on the market that come with three-year warranties. It will still be $100 more to move from a 22" w2207 with a three-year warranty to just about any of the 24" LCDs, but we think the use of S-PVA (Super Patterned Vertical Alignment) panels and additional features tips the scale in their favor.

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43 Comments

I recently picked one of these up for $360 - 10% off coupon + tax at Circuit City. The final price was about $340 which I feel is very competitive when compared to the Samsung 226BW/CW. I could have purchased a 226BW for slightly less and had to wait for it to be shipped and played the panel lottery or spent more for the 226CW which doesn't have a high gloss screen and has an annoying silver bar on the bottom of the display frame.

It's just simply a beautiful monitor. I switched my home monitor from a Dell 2005FPW with an S-IPS panel to the HP and took the Dell to work. While I know that the HP uses a 6-bit panel, the colors look better to me than those of the 2005FPW. The different in response time is definitely noticeable while gaming and moving mouse pointers quickly around the screen.

If you're in the market for a 22" widescreen display with a TN panel, this is the one to get. Reply

Consider the Acer AL2051W if you want to do a MVA panel review. I just bought one for $190 on Newegg and am very pleased so far. Fantastic viewing angle, stated at 176 degrees and from the looks of it, its not far off. A bit of backlight bleeding, but not out of the ordinary. This is an excellent panel for the price. Reply

there are two nice 28" monitors at newegg, see models above
both are about $650 which is dirt cheap for 28"
could you guys do a review of one of those, or even both?
I'm sure EVERYBODY would be interested!
these two seem like a huge hit, they just BLOW dell's 27" panels Reply

I asked for one from ViewSonic at one point. I don't recall why we didn't get one - we've been working on getting a ViewSonic contact. As far as quality, a few people are saying that they use a TN panel, so they certainly wouldn't be as good as stuff like the 27" Dell (which uses PVA). That would probably account for the lower price as well -- at least somewhat. Reply

Thank you so much for including viewing angle pictures! I can't tell you how important this aspect of a monitor is to me. Doing graphics work, TN panels are simply unusable because of the vertical viewing angle issues. This is the first site I've seen do photographic comparisons and it's AWESOME! :) Reply

We bought this w2207 a few weeks ago to replace 2 aging 21" Trinitron CRTs...one that has a "too bright" problem (despite brightness being 0) and another in which the red gun is going out (causing the monitor to have 'red seizures').

This monitor is great.
Originally I was going to get a 226BW but I didn't want to bother with getting one panel over another (ie trying to find an S panel but getting a C instead). The glossy coating on the w2207 makes it even better, even though (as mentioned) it's a PITA to keep it clean and clean it when it's dirty/dusty. Seems like it takes 5 minutes to completely clean the screen with a damp cloth and have it come out clean but without any dust at the same time.

That being said...I highly recommend this monitor. When we bought ours, it was on sale for $339 at Sears; a week later, it was down to $249 (and I called and got the $90 credit). Wish I would've had the money then to buy a 2nd for that price. =)

If you could find this on sale for $250, it would definitely be a no-brainer. At current prices, you'll have to think about it a bit more. It may very well be the best 22" monitor on the market, but I would take a 24" Gateway over it (even with the higher cost). Reply